The Palm Coast City Council held its business meeting on Nov. 4, 2025. It unanimously approved the annexation and rezoning of approximately 38.8 acres for a major commercial development, despite concerns about traffic impacts and utility capacity.
The council approved all three related items: the voluntary annexation of property owned by Flagler Pines Properties LLC, a future land use map amendment, and a zoning change from Flagler County General Commercial to City of Palm Coast General Commercial.
Citizens Academy Graduates
Before the business meeting, 25 residents graduated from the Citizens Academy, a seven-week program that provided tours of city facilities and departments, including parks and recreation, water and wastewater facilities, stormwater operations, and community development.
Angeline Menz, who played the mayor in a mock city council meeting during the program, shared her experience.
“I really learned a lot about the city. I’ve been here for 20 years today,” Menz said. “It was just really interesting to go through every department and learn what our peers do out there. My favorite part was at the fire station yesterday when Chief Barron was giving us a tour, and they actually had a call. When those sirens went out, I had chills up and down my body just how quickly they were motivated.”
Water Quality and Infrastructure Concerns
During the opening public comment period, Jeanie Duarte raised concerns about water quality. She said she requested 20 years of water quality reports from the city, but much of the data is missing. She also reported that her tap water is running slippery and yellow.
“Palm Coast Utilities needs a full forensic audit,” Duarte said. “And we must be focusing on our city’s assets, not just appealing to developers and their properties.”
Chantel Prenninger asked whether residents could install their own wells and wastewater systems to go off the city grid. City Manager Lauren Johnston directed utility staff to speak with both residents about their concerns.
Old Kings Road Infrastructure Dispute
Bob Million addressed the council about the Old Kings Road Special Assessment District, stating that property owners in the district have prepaid millions of dollars in impact fees for vacant land since 2013 in exchange for the city’s promise to provide infrastructure.
“In the past 12 years, landowners in the district repaid millions of dollars to the city for impact fees on vacant land. In the same 12-year period, the city clearly failed to meet its obligation to provide the required infrastructure,” Million said. “The city’s failure to provide the required infrastructure unfairly burdens the property, creating a financial hardship for the owner.”
Million urged the council to resolve the issue before it expands into litigation. City Manager Johnston said Attorney Marcus Duffy is working on the matter and hopes to have an answer by next week.
Commercial Development Approval
The main business of the evening centered on a proposed commercial development that could generate approximately $7.4 million in transportation impact fees. The maximum development potential for the property is 676,000 square feet of commercial space, though the actual buildable area is expected to be less due to parking, stormwater, and other constraints.
Vice Mayor Pontieri expressed significant concerns about traffic impacts, noting that the area already experiences congestion and the development would add approximately 25,000 trips at full buildout.
“We can’t plan this way. This is not how you plan,” Pontieri said. “You don’t have planning policies that limit traffic, that limit density, that limit our resources, and then just continue to annex in, continue to increase things. We’re talking about 25,000 more trips. This is not a small adjustment.”
Attorney Jay Livingston, representing the applicant, explained that the property is in a mandatory annexation zone under the city’s settlement with the county and Flagler Beach. He said the development would be subject to the city’s concurrency management system, which prevents development orders if they would drop the level of service below acceptable standards.
“If we’re dropping to F, then we don’t have concurrency, and you guys can deny the development order, or you can condition the development order on us addressing those traffic concerns through a prop share agreement,” Livingston said.
He noted that the developer could install a package wastewater treatment plant if there are capacity issues at the city’s treatment facility, and that building just the largest anchor store would actually reduce traffic compared to current conditions under county zoning.
Papa stated that the project would generate approximately $7.4 million in transportation impact fees, which would be paid when building permits are issued. He also noted that if BJ’s had been annexed into the city before developing, the city would have collected an additional $1.8 million in impact fees.
Mayor Mike Norris presented survey results showing community support for the development. The city polled 986 voters and received 361 responses, with 64.8% saying yes to the development, 34.1% saying no, and 1.1% undecided.
Councilman Miller suggested creating a continuous through lane on State Road 100 in front of the properties to provide additional capacity, rather than just turn lanes.
Councilman Gambaro emphasized the importance of diversifying the tax base and ensuring future large developments come before the council rather than through administrative review.
“As military commanders, we would often pull things up to our level for review so that we can make sure the proper oversight is there on a variety of different issues,” Gambaro said.
The annexation vote passed unanimously with all five council members voting yes: Vice Mayor Pontieri, Councilman Gambaro, Councilman Miller, Councilman Sullivan, and Mayor Norris.
Lawsuit Over Utility Capacity
Kent Saffert, an attorney with the law firm of Holtzman Vogel, spoke on behalf of Florida Landmark Communities LLC and Palm Coast Holdings, the developer of the Town Center at Palm Coast Development of Regional Impact (DRI). He announced that his clients filed a lawsuit against the city last week due to utility capacity issues.
“My clients have great concerns with any annexations to the city until the utility capacity gets resolved,” Saffert said. “With our DRI, we spent over $35.5 million in infrastructure improvements: roads, sewer, water, donating the property to the city in exchange for vested rights to develop the 1,500 acres within the DRI. We spent that money. We cannot develop that property now because there is no sewer and water capacity.”
Saffert said buyers recently backed out of a contract to purchase property within the DRI after meeting with the city and learning they did not have guaranteed rights for sewer and water capacity.
“We recently met again with the city to try to resolve these issues before we unfortunately had to file a lawsuit last week because of this breach of contract, and it was recognized that our property is worthless without wastewater and potable water,” Saffert said.
He urged the council to implement a moratorium on annexations until utility issues are resolved, noting that the annexation ordinance states the city is in a position to provide municipal services to the property.
“You can’t provide municipal services to properties within the city already. You certainly can’t provide it to properties outside the city,” Saffert said.
Public Opposition
Chantel Prenninger opposed the annexation, citing concerns about increased traffic, water demand, and wastewater processing. She noted that the development would require an additional 204,615 gallons of water per day and 139,117 gallons of wastewater processing per day.
“That construction is not in a bubble. It doesn’t mean that because it’s a few streets away, that it’s not going to spread over the whole thing,” Prenninger said. “The impact fee, let’s talk about that. It’s a one-time thing that the developer pays, but after that, we’re stuck with the traffic; we live here.”
Commercial Vehicle Ordinance Delayed
The council voted 3-2 to continue an ordinance regulating commercial vehicles parked in residential areas until the Nov. 18 meeting. The ordinance would allow one commercial vehicle per residence to be parked in driveways, with restrictions on size.
The council agreed to amend the proposed ordinance to increase the maximum length from 18 feet to 20 feet and reduce the maximum height from 10 feet to 9 feet before bringing it back for another read. Mayor Norris noted that the original 18-foot length would eliminate standard pickup trucks like F-150s and Ford Transits from being parked in driveways.
One resident warned that the parking proposal could lead to quality of life disruptions, safety hazards, property value concerns, and environmental issues. He noted that several area cities, including Ormond Beach, Daytona Beach, Holly Hill, Edgewater, and New Smyrna Beach, do not allow commercial parking in residential areas.
Councilman Gambaro and Councilman Sullivan voted against continuing the ordinance.
Waterway Anchoring Ordinance
The council unanimously approved an ordinance to prevent people from squatting in city waterways by limiting anchoring duration. The ordinance includes exceptions for safe harbor during storms or national emergencies.
Sheriff’s Service Recognition
Council members shared their appreciation for Sheriff Rick Staly, who celebrated 50 years of service earlier that day. Vice Mayor Pontieri noted that the council presented him with a key to the city during the ceremony.
“It was a really great ceremony today, and I’m very thankful for the Sheriff’s office,” Pontieri said. “A lot of public officials, even from out of our county and city, just a lot of appearances from people who really care about our Sheriff and the Sheriff’s Department and the work that they do.”
Councilman Sullivan noted that both the County Commission and City Council have been supportive of the Sheriff’s Department and helped make the new building possible.
City offices will be closed for Veterans Day on Nov. 11. City manager finalist interviews will take place Nov. 13, with public sessions in the afternoon followed by a community meet-and-greet.
The post Palm Coast Council Approves Major Commercial Development Amid Traffic and Utility Concerns first appeared on Flagler County Buzz.
